Geartesting II

Last sunday me and a friend of mine decided to walk a small part of the “Rheinsteig”, a mid-distance trail along the Rhein. As I live just a few meters off the trail, we started at my place and walked to Burg Scharfenstein in Kiedrich. On our way back we just went straight through the woods, following the sun and our body radar :c) I love hiking without following a certain trail or road, no maps, no compass, just me and nature… The amazing part was that -as we nearly got back home- the first place I recognized was a place where the day before I’ve seen a fox (and the day before I was saying to myself: I have to come back here tomorrow, to keep track of that fox). Somehow my body radar brought me back to that place, remembering I wanted to go there… Pretty amazing I’d say!!!As for geartesting:I was wearing* Quetchua winter hiking boots * Two pairs of Quetchua socks* Capilene 4 long bottoms* Montura pants* Quetchua long sleeved T shirt* Montane fireball Smock* Patagonia Houdini* Meru hat* Patagonia liner gloves

In my backpack (Go Lite Pinnacle) I had packed (just in order to add some weight, I actually didn’t really have to take stuff… except for some food and water)* TaR Neoair XTherm* Trail Design Caldera Cone Stove* Tarptent Notch* Some small stuff and some clothes to add a little weight* 1,5 liters of water* Bisquits, Apple, M&Ms

Temperatures were below zero and there was a really cold wind blowing. As long as I kept moving, I felt warm and comfortable. Standing still for to0 long in a windy spot, made me feel cold quite fast…I’m in some concern my fireball smock won’t keep me warm enough whilst not moving. For instance in the evening or in the morning around camp at the JMT… Should I add another insulation piece??? (Of course I can’t compare German winter to Californian Summer…. yet at higher altitudes the temperature can drop below zero at night.)

The piece I felt most pleased about was my Go Lite Pinnacle. That backpack is really comfortable!!! Maybe it was because of the fact that I haven’t really packed heavy stuff. I actually carried all weight on my shoulders (I felt the pack wasn’t heavy enough to carry some weight on my hips) and didn’t experience any problems at all. Next time I go for a walk I’ll carry some heavier stuff. Curious how it’s gonna perform then.